8.08.2008

What's Happening in Salt City

I had only been at my job for a few months when I had to start working on last year's catalogs. And while the finished product was certainly passable, I was still familiarizing myself with Salt City's visual style, and wasn't really comfortable enough yet to push the envelope too much. When catalog season came rolling around this year, my boss encouraged me to rethink all aspects of the design. With an added year of experience under my belt, I was able to identify specific areas where some streamlining was needed, and found creative ways to make the catalog more user-friendly.

Well, the catalogs recently rolled off the press, and I have to say, I am quite pleased with the final result. I think they represent my most accomplished work to date. Below is the cover for the Home Party version, which highlights the distinct shape of our candles. Feel free to download the pdf and take a closer look at the whole thing (please be patient, it might take a minute or two).




Another fun project I had the chance to work on recently was designing gift boxes for our primary line of candles. Working closely with our packaging vendor, we came up with a unique hexagon shaped box with flaps on top that fold down to resemble a bow. I have been waiting for the right project to come along in which I could incorporate some spot varnish, and my chance finally arrived with these boxes. First the entire box was given a smooth matte coating. Next, a high gloss finish was applied over the images, which makes the colors appear more rich and vivid. Glossy pinstripes were also added in the black and white sections, which really give the package a high end feel. It is kind of hard to see the finish in this photo, but you can see the pinstripes if you look closely.

6 comments:

Steve&Melissa said...

Fabulous! (as always...)

Caitlinp said...

Wow. We're impressed. And I now have the sudden urge to go by some fruity smelling candles.

Cheryl said...

Very impressive.

Ben said...

Hey Dave I think you linked to the 07-08 version...Hey at least I downloaded it! As far as this year's cover and the varnish on the boxes, I say bravo.

Dave said...

Whoops, you are right, I did link last year's catalog. I just fixed the problem. Everyone has to re-download it!

ScottBoomer said...

Thats very impressive.
Not very manly but still impressive.
When's that BBQ Sauce candle gonna come out?